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(No Model.)

A. G. INGI-IRAM. PNEUMATIC RAILWAY SIGNAL.

Patented Mar. 18, 1890.

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; 3 UNITED STATES ATENT UFF GE.

' AARON G. INGHRAM, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

PN EUMATIC RAI LWAY-SIGNAL.

" SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,477, dated March 18, 1890. I Application filed January 2,1890; Serial No. 335,567. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AARON G. INGHRAM, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic nection with the accompanying drawings, and

then pointed-out in the claims.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a perspective- View of a railway-track on which my signaling apparatus is placed at a crossing. Fig; 2 is a sectional detail View showing the airpump and its actuating mechanism. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the alarm-soundin g mechanism. Fig. '4 1s a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of the rack- Fig. 6 is a transverse sectionbar enlarged. of the same, taken on the line :0, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a broken detail View, partly sectional, illustrating the manner of connecting the air-tubes with the cylinder secured to the sign-post.

railway, and B a crossing.

0 represents what I term a springuide, which consists of a plate of metal, preferably of triangular shape, as shown. In the sides of this plate there are slots 1 and 2, which incline toward each'other from the-base upward until they meet at the top, leaving a triangular wall 3 between them. This plate is bolted to one of the cross-ties, a short distance inside of one of the railroad-rails and parallel with it.

D is a rod of spring metal, one end of which is secured in the cross-tie, its free end passing through the spring-guide C a. short distance, that portion of the spring which is within the guide resting normally over the apex of the wall 3.

E represents an airpump of ordinary construction, consisting of a cylinder e, closed at top and bottom, a piston 8 within the cylinder, and a piston-rod 6 connected to the pise Referring-to the drawings, A=ifep1'esents a ton and passing through a gasket 6 in the top of the cylinder. valve e closes an air-inlete in the top of the cylinder, and openings efibeneath the piston when in its lowest position, permit the escape of air. The air-pump is placed in the roadbed near to the rail and against one of the cross-ties, and is held in position by means of a block of wood F, cored out at one end to encircle the pump, and fitted tightly between two cross-ties, as clearly seen in Fig. 1.

G is a lever fulcrumed in a bracket 9, secured to block F, one end of the lever pass-I ing through the slotted upper end of the piston-rod and the other end reaching just to and lying beneath the projecting end of spring. D when the latter is in its normal position.

H is an air-tube leading from the air-pump 5s An upwardly-closing to the place where the signal is located at the crossing, it being understood that the airpump is to be located about one hundred and.

fifty or two hundred yards from the crossing, and that there is .to be an air-pump and actuating mechanism on each side of the crossing. the top of the pump-cylinder, and its other end, which is provided with a flap-valve h,'is screwed into a metalT I, fromwhi'ch another tube J extends to and enters the bottom of a cylinder K,'secured in a vertical position to I the sign-post U.

In the cylinder K th re-1s a piston M,whose the Figs. 9 and 10. In the turn of this groove at each end there is secured a flat spring 0', (see Figs. 4: and 5,) whose free end stands flush with the outer surface of the groove, as seen in'Fig. 6. The rack-bar O'gears with a small gear-wheelP, mounted upon a shaft Q, journaled in brackets 12, secured to post U, a pin 13, projecting from the bracket nearest this wheel, entering the groove in the rackbar, for a purpose which will appear farther on. On' shaft Q there is also mounted a One end of the tube is tightly fitted in Brod N is pivoted to the lower end of a rackbar O, which is providedwith gear-teeth oon .its front edge, in "one sideof this rack- ;bar there is a continuous groove, which, for convenience of description, I designate by grooved pulley R and .a toothed wheel S, to

the former of which'there is secured a cord 7", carrying a weight R.

.T represents a gong-bell supported on an arm 14, secured to post U, and T is its striking-rod, which is pivoted to a bracket 15, se-

cured to said post, the lower endof this rod being in engagement with the teeth of wheel S, as clearly seen in Figs. 3 and 4.

The operation of my pneumatic railwaysignalis as follows: Assuming that a train of cars is approaching the crossing from either side, when the flange of a car-wheel comes rack-bar is down, the pin 13 is in engagement with the rear portion 9 of the groove in saidv bar, and by this means the rack-bar is held in gear with gear-wheel P. As the rack-bar ascends, shaft Q is turned, winding up the weight-cord, and also sounding the gong by reason of the lower end of its striking-rod riding over teeth of wheel 8. As the rackbar nears its full upward throw, the lower spring 0' passes over the pin 13, and then when the bar has reached its highest position it will have been so guided by the pin that the latter will enter the front portion 10 of the groove with the effectof throwing the rack-bar backward out of mesh with wheel P,

thespring 0 preventing the pin from gettingv back into the rear portion 9 of the groove at that end of the bar. In moving the rack-bar up 'to this position the piston M will have passed above the perforations 8 in the cylinder, thereby permitting of the escape of air from beneath it through them. rack-bar is out of gear with wheel P, it drops by gravity to its lowest position again, and the shaft Q being free to revolve, the weight R gradually descends, turning the shaft and ringing the gong. In the fall of therack-bar the upper spring 0 passes over pin 13 and the bar is thro'wnaga-in into mesh with wheel eration.

'P, the pin being new once inpre in the rear portion 9 of the groove, readylfor the next op- The alarm is not sounded as the train leaves the crossing, for the reason that the wheel-flange carries the projecting end of the jsp1' ing-rod D down'the slot 2 in the springguid'e O, and as it moves down the inclined wall 3 it is carried clear of the end of the lever G, as will clearly appear on an inspection of Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a pneumatic railway-signal, the combination, with an air-p11 mp, of the springguide having two inclined slots, which come together at their top ends, the'sp'ring-rod, secured at one end to a suitable support in the road-bed, itsfree end passing through the spring-guide at the apex of said slots,

Now, as the and a lever, one end of which is connected with the piston-rod of the air-p'ump,-its other end being located beneath the projecting free end of the spring-rod, all arranged substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a pneumatic railway-signal, the combination, with a cylinder provided with a piston and a piston-rod secured to a post,

and mechanism operated by a passing train 'of ears for forcing air into the cylinder under its piston, of a shaft journaled in bearings on said post and carrying a gear-Wheel and a pulley, a weight attached to a cord secured to the pulley, a bell mounted on the post, a rack-bar pivoted to the piston-rod and capable in its reci-procati'ons of being automatically thrown into and out of mesh with said gear-wheel, and means, for sounding the bellin'the revolutions of the shaft, substantially as described. f

3. In a pneumaticrailway-signaLthe combination, with a cylinder provided with a piston and a piston-rod secured to a post, and mechanism operated by a passing train of cars for forcing air into the cylinder under its piston, of a shaft journaled in bearings on the post and carrying a-geai wheel, a pulley and a toothed wheel, a weight attached to a cord secured to the pulley-,- a bell mounted on said post, a striking-rod for the bell in engagement with the said toothed wheel, and a rack-bar pivoted to the pistonrodand capable in its reciprocations of being automatically thrown into and out of mesh with said gear=wheel, substantially as described. c

4. In a pneumaticrailway-signal, the combination-, with a cylinder provided with a piston and a piston-rod secured to a post,

rack-bar being pivoted to the piston-rod,

whereby said bar in its reciprocati'ons is automatically moved intd-and out of mesh with said gear-wheel, for the purposes stated.

5'. A pneumatic railway-signal comprising air-pump E, springguide 0, spring-rod D,

lever 'G, cylinder K, provided with a piston and a piston-rod, air-tubes H I J, connecting the pump and cylinder, shaft Q, carrying gear-wheel P, pulley R, provided with'wei'ght R, and toothed wheel S, bell 'I", and its striking-rod T, rack-bar O, and the fixed pin 13, the whole constructed and arranged substan- IIO tially as described, and for the purposes set forth. v

In testim'onywhereof I affix mysignatu're in presence of two witnesses. u

AARON G. INGHRAM. \Vitnessesz E. E. CLIPPINGER O. H. PARIRIDGE. 

